Review: MISS MOLLY: A MARITAL DECEIT OF HONEST INTENTIONS at Amphibian Stage

Miss Molly: A Marital Deceit of Honest Intentions, in its world premiere run at Amphibian Stage in Fort Worth is wickedly clever combination of Oscar Wilde, La Cage aux Folles, and The Book of Mormon (without the singing and dancing, that is).

The process of writing the play may have begun as an homage to Wilde, but the play succeeds on its own: no knowledge of Wilde (or his work) is required to enjoy the show, although there’s certainly no reason why people who aren’t familiar with his work shouldn’t become so.  And while Wilde satirized the late Victorian society to which he belonged, there were subjects he could not touch: religious texts (which caused his play Salome to be banned from the British stage) and homosexuality, at the time a crime punishable by two years hard labor (it had been a capital offense during Wilde’s childhood), for which Wilde himself was convicted and sentenced.

Happily, Miss Molly’s author, Christine Carmela, is not so constrained, so she has written a play that could very well have been about some of Wilde’s aristocratic friends.  The play, set in London in 1889 (two years after Wilde finished serving his prison term) is about a couple: Mr. Matthias Manley (Parker Gray) and Mr. Aloysius Thurston (Brayden Raqueño).  As the authorities are cracking down, Manley decides he needs what is today referred to as a “beard.”  He therefore proposes to his good friend, Miss Mary “Molly” Houseington (playwright Carmela), who is under pressure from her domineering mother to marry, but is unaware of her new fiancé’s proclivities.  Furthermore, they both have concluded that they should introduce Molly’s younger sister, Miss Genevieve Houseington (Logan Graye) to Thurston for similar purposes. 

There are a few problems with the plan, however.  This is Molly’s big day, but Thurston always has to be the center of attention.  Moreover, Genevieve is an iconoclastic young lady.  She’s been known to rail against the “patriarchy” (to her mother’s disdain), sees no need to marry, and has a catalog of (discrete) lovers.

The biggest problem, though, is the ladies’ mother, The Viscountess Petunia Houseington (Emily Scott Banks).  Part Lady Catherine de Bourgh from Pride and Prejudice, part Mama Rose from Gypsy, and wholly lacking the subtlety and tact of either, she is everything no one would ever want in a mother.  Having noticed that there’s something…odd (perhaps even…well, never mind) about the suitors, she decides to figure out what it is.  Not being nearly as bright as she thinks she is, she enlists the help of their own mothers, Baroness Ella Manley (Laurel Collins) and Baroness Bertha Thurston (Shannon J. McGrann).

In addition to standard comedic tropes, much of the humor in this very funny play comes from the plethora of sexual innuendos, double entendres, and straight up puns.  The funniest of these puns are those that are formed by word that today have a specific meaning, but that meant something completely different in the late nineteenth century.  As such, the characters are speaking perfectly normally, while the audience is rolling from references the characters don’t know that they’re making.  Moreover, we learn that the pubs that gay men frequented at the time were called molly houses, which bears a striking resemblance to a particular someone’s name. 

The play is excellently directed by Carmela’s friend (and former roommate), Amphibian’s Evan Michael Woods, whose commitment to this project began at its inception.  The period costumes by Aaron Patrick DeClerk are elaborate and detailed.  Paige Hathaway’s set is deceptively simple, with a single background serving four different locations (five, if you count the brilliant see-through wall that conceals a hallway), the furnishings changing significantly, while Patrick Emile’s sound and Isabella Barnett’s props are effective.  Luke Atkison’s lighting was especially well-tuned to the play, and added a wonderful recurring sight gag that made me laugh each time.

While I enjoyed Miss Molly greatly, it is not a play for all audiences.  I’ll follow the Viscountess’s example and be blunt: there are a couple of times when the men kiss each other passionately.  If that’s an insurmountable problem for you, you should avoid this one.  Moreover, there’s even a scene involving what is currently the most controversial activity in the country: cross dressing (although it is in no way sexualized).  Add to that the aforementioned innuendo and the subject itself, and I’ll just say that discretion is highly advised.

That said, not only has Carmela written a thoroughly enjoyable and very clever play, in which she and an incredibly talented cast perform so well, it’s worth noting that she didn’t make her character the lead.  She’s the title character, but not the star. Moreover, there’s even a doppelganger scene that doesn’t require the complete suspension of disbelief.  In this age of appearance-blind casting, sometimes the audience really has to stretch to believe that anyone could confuse a large, dark Sebastian with a tiny, pale Ceasario.  Here we are spared such mental contortions as both sides of the “mirror” mostly match.  I’m not sure we needed the Lucille Ball/Harpo Marx bit to go on as long as it did, but that’s a minor quibble that doesn’t derail a play that had me laughing throughout.

Miss Molly runs through August 13.  Thursday through Saturday shows are at 8 PM; Sunday at 2 PM.  Amphibian Stage offers a tiered ticketing model to accommodate all patrons.  For tickets or information, call the box office at (817) 923-3012 or click the link below.

Photo Credits: Evan Michael Wood

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